"Deal With It"

I am so excited to write this article because it is just a shorter version of what I'm going to be writing in my book.

**1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

Life is full of challenges and obstacles that if we are not careful would eat away at our faith. Relationships that can go sour, job layoffs, disappointments, heartache and heartbreak, can all eat away at our faith in God. If your not careful... tradition and religion can eat away at your faith, and cause you to live a life that God never intended for you to live. You see living for God requires faith. And you can never overcome temptation unless you have complete and total trust in God.
When I read 1 Corinthians 10:13 it helps me understand that God is not a genie... He is a teacher. And many Christians would prefer God to be a genie... that if they would shout loud enough and pray hard enough or if they spin around five times that there problems would disappear. But that is not what the bible teaches. Now don't get me wrong... I believe in prayer and I believe that when we ask God for anything according to His will... He gives it to us. But then there are seasons in our life that God wants to teach. Whew!!!... Sure we would prefer that when we are in trouble that the Lord would deliver us quickly. But the "Testing of our faith produces patience" and the scripture tells us to "Let Patience have it's perfect work." So that we would mature and grow.
What I want to convey to you is this... anytime the scripture talks about temptation... another word that could be used is "TEST"... you see temptation from satan's stand point is enticement... but from God's stand point its "testing"... and a teacher would not allow you to be tested without giving you a lesson first. That is why this particular scripture says that "God is faithful".... Because He will not allow us to be tested without first preparing us for the test. God knows our limits, so no test will be given without Him giving us the answers to our situation. The problem with most believers is that they don't spend time in God's presence to get the answer that they need to overcome life's challenges. Before Jesus was tempted... He fasted 40 days and 40 nights..... Now I know that in the mist of Him fasting... the Lord prepared Him to face satan head on. He spent time in God's presence... and the Holy Spirit prepared Him for the test. When and only when we spend time fasting and praying and seeking the Lord... will He provide the way of escape so that we can endure(bear) the temptation.
So many people would rather not go through anything. But that is not real life. There is so much more that I can say about this scripture... but I guess your going to have to wait until the book comes out LOL... But if there is one thing you need to remember its this. The way of escape does not mean we will not face anything in life. It means God teaches us a lesson before the test. Now let me ask you a question... what has He been teaching you lately?... and why do you keep going through the same things over and over again? Get the lesson so that you can pass the test! If you don't deal with the issue... then it will keep coming up. God is a teacher... and He teaches us to deal with the situations that we face.

Father, help us to deal with our situation and not avoid them. Help us to be real with ourselves. That when we need help, we ask for help. Teach us Lord so that we can be prosperous and victorious in our lives.

In Jesus Name!
Amen.

Be Blessed!
Chad

Be Blessed!
Chad Owens

"The Fear of Failure"

For the past four years now, I have seen and heard so many stories of Pastors falling, or being caught up in some kind of scandal. I just have to be honest with you, when these kinds of things come out,the fear of failure trys to overtake me. And the enemy would say to me "See if they couldn't do it, then you want be able to do it either". You must understand that these men and women start out pure, loving the Lord and doing ministry not to be served but to serve. But then something happens to them, they become hungry for power. It's no longer about winning souls for the kingdom, now its about how many people they can get to come to there church and follow there ministry. When I see these leaders fall, "I don't rejoice and think I told you so. I start crying and I say Lord please don't let it be me." Sometimes what causes me to shrink back and not step out into my purpose is the fear of failure. (Don't get spiritual on me)... we all have some kind of reservation to stepping out and doing what God has called us to do. Look at Moses... who didn't want to be used by God because he had a talking problem... or look at the prophet Jeremiah. He told God that he was to young. Look at Joshua... There was a reason why God told him to "Be strong and of good courage not once, not twice, but three times. The truth is we all need some courage to help us face our fears, our hurts, and our disappointments. I know people who got offered promotions but turned it down because they were afraid of failing. Thomas Edision failed 10,000 times before he was successful at creating the first light bulb. Never give up on your dream,it doesn't matter how many times you've fallen. Get back up and try again! Did you know that the prophet Jeremiah did not win one person to the Lord while he was in ministry? What was his motivation? I wonder if he felt like a failure. I can't imagine preaching the word to people and no receives it. I would feel like a failure. Jeremiah's motivation was to please the one who called him. He was a young man and he went through so much because he obeyed God. I have only been in ministry for ten years. But most of those years were my young years. So when I look at these men who have been in ministry for 30 years and have been married for 18 years, fall... I have to remind myself that I'm not doing this on my own. That God is my source!! and that He will keep me from falling and will present me faultless before God. It reminds me to keep myself in check, that just because I'm a minister, it doesn't mean that I'm exempt to falling. It's kinda like what Paul has said in 1 Cor 9:27 " But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." The key to keeping yourself from being a cast away... is discipline.

Lord help us not be afraid of failure. We will have good days and we will have bad days. But I thank you Lord that, it doesn't define who we are.... "WE ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF God IN CHRIST JESUS"... Help us to remember that with you, we can be courageous and overcome anything. In Jesus name.. Amen!!

Be Blessed!!
Min. Chad Owens